Half of all small businesses fail in the first five years. Only one-third are expected to make it past 10 years.
To avoid a similar fate, you must dig into these failures to identify why they were unsuccessful. In some cases, business failure is the result of poor marketing tactics or low-quality products and services.
However, more often than not, you’ll find that a lack of strategic planning and task management is to blame. As a small business owner, it’s up to you to provide guidance for your business. You need to create a company roadmap for you and your employees to follow.
We can help. Let’s take a look at how task management can drastically increase productivity to keep your employees and your company thriving. Keep reading for everything you need to know about setting goals and keeping your employees focused on the task at hand.
Table of Contents
Set SMART Goals for You and Your Employees
First, let’s talk about setting goals for your company. You must have a direction in which to strive.
We recommend using OKRs (objectives and key results) to clearly define the vision you hold for your business. This goal-setting method can be used by individuals, teams, or entire organizations. OKRs set measurable and achievable goals, define strategies, and track progress.
The goals you set for your team depend entirely on your business, the department you’re working with, and your overall mission. For example, a retention center for an internet provider might set goals for employees to handle at least 20 calls a day. Within this goal, they should strive to retain at least 15% of the customers calling to cancel services.
For long-term goal setting, we also suggest implementing SMART goals. SMART goals are:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
By focusing your strategic planning around this specific type of goal creation, you can create a company roadmap with clear pathways, milestones, and end results.
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Identify Your Company’s KPIs
What are your company’s key performance indicators? In other words, in what ways can you measure progress, success, and mission attainment?
Typical KPIs include things like:
- Sales numbers
- New customer acquisition
- Retention numbers
- Website traffic
- Lead generation
- Social media growth
It’s important to implement task management and monitor these KPIs to maximize business growth. It will help you keep track of your company’s overall health and performance. Are you in an upward trend or are your numbers falling?
KPIs will also help you identify and analyze patterns over time. For example, how does the amount of energy and effort you put into your social media presence impact your website traffic and online sales numbers?
Based on this data, you can make adjustments to ensure your company is constantly yielding high numbers. You’ll be able to identify problems and implement effective solutions.
In the long run, monitoring your KPIs will help you measure your progress. This might also provide insight into valuable opportunities that can help you expand your growth.
Make Clear Communication a Top Priority
Effective task management calls for clear communication. Being a good communicator is one of the most important qualities of a successful leader.
Elevated communication helps you express clear expectations to your employees. This includes providing a path to success through detailed instructions and experienced insight.
However, positive communication in the workplace is a two-way street. Your employees must also feel comfortable and confident to speak their minds.
Make sure you’re presenting yourself as approachable, patient, and accommodating. If your staff are afraid the bring things to you, you’re going to miss out on a lot of important information. This includes:
- Sticking points
- Hurdles
- Conflicts
- Insight and suggestions
- And more
Many employers make the mistake of thinking that good ideas can only come from the top. In truth, employees who work at the lower levels have unique perspectives to implement effective changes.
Use Technology to Your Advantage
One of the best ways to increase productivity is through the use of technology. Apps and software can be used to keep your entire team on the same page, even if each team member has a different task.
In terms of strategic planning, there is no better way to automate task management. These types of programs are designed to maximize efficiency through personalized goals, timelines, and reminders.
Each employee will be held to individual tasks and reminded regularly about their goals. You can set timelines to keep everyone motivated and accountable.
Click here to discover more about OKRs and the technology you can use to drive up performance.
Limit Distractions and Interruptions
Keeping employees focused and engaged in their work is one of the most important components of task management. As an employer, this means mitigating factors that could interrupt the flow of work and efficiency.
For example, only schedule meetings that are absolutely essential. We recommend a weekly meeting at the beginning of the week to make sure everyone’s on the same page. This is also a good time for your staff to ask questions or address any concerns.
Additionally, limit common distractions in the workplace, such as:
- Personal conversations
- Gossipping
- Excessive breaks for smoking, snacking, coffee, etc.
- Smartphone usage
- Social media
- Daydreaming or zoning out
- And more
Scheduling regular breaks is an important rule for keeping your employees productive. Staying on-task for too long will result in a lack of focus.
One study shows that the most productive people take a break every 52 minutes. What’s more, this break lasts 17 minutes. You might cringe at the idea of employees taking 17 minutes off after every 52 minutes of work, but it’s incredibly beneficial.
Want to Improve Your Task Management and Efficiency?
As you can see, proper task management is vital for the health and long-term success of your company. We hope this article helps you increase productivity and efficiency in your place of work. And remember, strategic planning takes time to implement and present results, be patient.
For more small business tips, management advice, or marketing guidance, stick around. Our blog was created to help entrepreneurs like you find success in a competitive world.